How big can Apple go? 13-inch iPad may be on the way

Your next iPhone or iPad may be noticeably bigger than the device you’re carrying around today. Apple is reportedly testing a whopping 13-inch display for the iPad and larger iPhone displays, according to officials at the company’s suppliers.

Over the past few months, Apple has allegedly asked for prototypes of an iPhone with a display larger than four inches and a screen design for a tablet just under 13 inches, The Wall Street Journal reported. If Apple does decide to launch a bigger iPad, we may see this device as soon as the first half of 2014, according to Korean news source ET News.

This follows reports from last month that suggested Apple was experimenting with 4.7 and 5.7-inch screens for its future iPhones, although the company (as per usual) has not confirmed any plans for its upcoming products.

There’s no telling if these purported large-screened iPhones and iPads will ever make it to the market, but these reports suggest Apple is brainstorming new ways to appeal to consumers and snag the top smartphone spot from Samsung. While Apple is still the industry leader when it comes to tablet sales, Samsung claimed 33.1 percent of the smartphone market in the first quarter of 2013, while Apple only accounted for 17.9 percent of handset sales during the same period, according to Strategy Analytics.

The Wall Street Journal’s sources also suggest that Apple plans to refresh its 9.7-inch iPad with in-cell touch technology to create a thinner, sleeker design. Apple is currently ramping up production for this alleged iPad model just as suppliers have begun mass production on components for the new iPhone as well.

The upcoming iPhone that is expected to launch during the second half of this year will have the same screen size and resolution as the current iPhone 5, the newspaper reports. At the same time, Apple is working with manufacturing partners in Asia to create a less-expensive non-metal iPhone that will come in multiple color options.